Saw an article this morning on the passing of Fredrik Meijer, founder of the chain that carries his name. He was 91.

http://www.npr.org/2011/11/26/142798...ik-meijer-dead

I remember when the first Meijer's Thrifty Acres store opened in Ann Arbor in the early 70's. I thought it was the greatest store I had ever seen.

As an aside, the chain would occasionally cause a little confusion out here in the Pacific Northwest. A Safeway meat manager I knew in Moses Lake, WA told me he had accepted a job in a Meijers near Chicago, and started to tell me that it was NOT Fred Meyer, a Portland based chain that uses the same concept. Much to his suprise, I told him I was familiar with Meijers.